Calendar

HUMILITY IS THE KEY
WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 7
James 4:10

1 Peter 5:5-6

 

“Humble yourselves therefore

under the mighty hand of God…”

 

HUMILITY IS THE KEY
 
Change takes much effort. To reform a man who is used to living a wicked life will not be easy. The spirit of envy and strife are manifestations of man’s pride. The seed of all evil is pride. It first germinated in Lucifer, and he cast this seed onto this earth. The critical antidote is humility, tapeinoo, which means to make low. The sinner must humble himself. He must have the genuine realisation of complete unworthiness and lostness because of sin. Jesus says, “Blessed are the poor in spirit: for theirs is the kingdom of heaven” (Matt 5:3).
 
God shall be pleased: The phrase “in the sight of the Lord” (James 4:10) signifies being in the Lord’s presence. God shall be pleased when we humble ourselves before Him. Many appear to be meek before people. But when they are alone (or in their hearts), they have a proud spirit. God is not pleased with hypocrites. Jesus warns, “Beware ye of the leaven of the Pharisees, which is hypocrisy. For there is nothing covered, that shall not be revealed; neither hid, that shall not be known” (Luke 12:1-2). Our God is omniscient as well as omnipresent. King David knew this. Read his prayer in Psalm 51:4.
 
God shall lift you up: If we truly humble ourselves and sincerely repent of our sins, James says God shall lift us up. The original word for “lift” speaks figuratively of honour and position, i.e. God will exalt us. Vain are man’s efforts to be exalted. Only the Lord can lift us up in a genuine sense. He will lift us out of trouble, or He will raise up our spirits and comfort us in crisis. He will lift us to safety in this wicked world. He will surely lift us up on our way to heaven. Read Psalm 147:5-6.
 
Dear reader, there is nothing in us that we can be proud of. Moreover, we cannot even lift ourselves beyond the bounds of our galaxy, which is just a dot compared to God’s vast universe. We better admit the reality of who we are. And when we do it in repentance of our sins and put our faith in Jesus Christ, the Lord Himself will lift us up.
 
THOUGHT: Do I have humility?
PRAYER: Father, grant me the grace to be humble and see myself as incapable of doing that which is pleasing in Thy sight.

Search